The Men who Stare at Goats

Journalist Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) reporting in Iraq -to impress his estranged wife - may just have stumbled on the story of a lifetime when he meets Lyn Cassady (George Clooney) who claims to be a former member of the U.S army's First Earth Battalion. A 1980s unit that employed paranormal powers in their missions. ie: Men who can stare at goats till their hearts stop.

Based on Jon Ronson's book, it's a satirical comedy in the style of the Coen brothers.
Tagged with the title that that 'more of this is true than you realise' you are led into a story of hippie soldiers, psychic spies, Jedi warrior all quite endearingly woven together with off-the-wall characters. A list actors with some terrific moments, the film meanders but ultimately never reaches a satisfactory conclusion. The kind of movie that leaves you scratching your head. However, if you get the chance - read the script because then you'll see how funny this film really is.
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Best line: It's ok, you can "attack" me...
What's with the quotation fingers? It's like saying I'm only capable of ironic attacking or something.

Moon

Director Duncan Jones' first feature film about Sam Bell an employee who is contracted by Lunar Industries to work on the moon and that's all we're saying because we don't want to give away the plot.

Trawling through the films on Love Film I came across this movie and without even reading the synopsis put it on the list because it had such a cool poster. Months later it turned up and before we watched it I was repeatedly asked what it was about, to which I replied 'the moon, I guess.' But when we came to watch it we were blown away. This should have got Sam Rockwell an Oscar nod - at least. It's incredible to think this movie was made for just $5m, it looks as if it's been filmed on location - on the moon! The entire movie literally has only one actor in it. It's a fantastic film. Brilliantly directed and superbly acted.
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Best line - Sam: Gerty, is there someone else in the room?

The Proposal 2009

Pushy boss, Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock), forces her young assistant, Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds) to marry her in order to avoid being deported to Canada.

Only one of the Saturday Night Bright team watched this movie because only one of them is a Sandra Bullock fan! That apart, this movie script is sadly, formulaic. It's all been done before right down to the confession at the altar and inevitable chase to the airport. There are some very funny moments mostly provided by the adorable Betty White who plays Andrew's Grandma Annie and the scenery is very nice! But mostly it's just another romcom with the usual predictable happy ending.

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Eagle vs Shark

Two social misfits, Lily (Loren Horsley) and Jarrod (Jemaine Clement) become boyfriend and girlfriend after Lily - who works at a fast food outlet turns up univited at a party thrown by the boy she adores from afar, Jarrod, a nerd who works at a video games store. Impressed by her savant-like skills at a video game they embark on a romance. But Jarrod has more on his mind than love as he is honing his fighting skills to settle and old score with a school bully.

Although this has sometimes been referred to as New Zealand's answer to Napoleon Dynamite this was, in fact, released at the same time. Deadpan humour, quirky, eccentric and quite brilliantly acted this movie makes you laugh and yet empathise with the characters. It's quite simply a funny film with a really lovely story and we didn't want it to end.

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The Bucket List

Two Terminally ill men, Carter Chambers and Edward Cole (Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson) on a road trip with a wish list of things to do before they 'kick the bucket.'

Things we didn't like about this movie:
1. The bucket list road trip was not the theme of the movie.
2. Sentimental overkill.
3. Depressing to the extreme!

We conclude that Freeman and Nicholson are tremendous actors and that is this movie's only saving grace. And speaking of grace (you might have to pray for some to get you through this depressing tale) the only thing we liked was 'ex Will and Grace' actor Sean Hayes who played Edward Cole's long suffering, and often amusing, assistant.

Best line: "We live, we die, and the wheels on the bus go round and round."

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Shooter

Ex-army marksman, Bob Lee Swagger, is living in exile when he is persuaded back into action after learning of a plot to kill the president. But ultimately framed for the attempted assassination he goes on the run to catch the real killer and find out who has set him up.

Rambo meets Jason Bourne. Which means lots of heads and arms being shot off but with a good story to accompany the blood lust. Basically one man's struggle against a powerful and corrupt system bent on framing him for something he didn't do. Who could he trust? Hell. We didn't know. The movie made us feel as uncertain as Swagger did himself. It kept us guessing. Would he outsmart the bad guy as he stepped into one trap after another? A movie that involved it's viewer - always a good thing. It's sustains tension and kept us guessing. And we so wanted Swagger to come out on top.

Best line: "You can's shoot me, I'm a U.S. senator."
"Exactly."
pow!

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